Symptoms and diagnosis of melanoma

Symptoms

The mole has a mixture of different shades of brown, black or other colours through it

The mole is bigger than the blunt end of a pencil

The mole looks red or inflamed around the edges

The mole is bleeding, oozing or crusting

The mole starts to feel different, for example, slightly itchy or painful

If you have any of the above signs, get them checked out by your doctor as soon as possible. He or she will examine you and decide what to do. Melanoma has a very good chance of being cured if diagnosed and treated early.

Remember when checking a mole, look for the ABCDE:

A = asymmetrical shape ( one half unlike the other)

B = irregular border

C = is for changes in colour

D = is for diameter (size)

E = is for evolving (a change over time)

Screening

Testing for cancer when you have no symptoms is called screening. There is no screening programme in Ireland for melanoma. Instead, you can examine yourself from head to toe every month. This can help you to learn the moles, freckles and other skin marks that are normal for you.

Stand in front of a long mirror to do this. Make sure you check the front, back and sides of your arms and legs. Also, check your groin, scalp and fingernails and your soles and the spaces between your toes.

If you have a risk of melanoma , talk to your doctor about getting screened more often and by a skin specialist called a dermatologist.

Diagnosis

Visit your family doctor (GP) first who will examine your skin carefully. He or she can then decide to refer you to a skin specialist (dermatologist) for more tests and treatment at a hospital. Some GPs may take a sample of the affected skin and have it tested. But many GPs prefer that a skin specialist removes a suspected melanoma.

The tests at the hospital will include:

Skin exam: Sometimes cancer can be found by simply looking at your skin.

Biopsy: The only way to diagnose melanoma exactly is with a biopsy. If the mole is small, the entire mole or growth is removed, along with a small border of normal appearing skin. This is then sent to the lab for analysis.

Further tests to stage melanoma

If you are diagnosed with melanoma, the next step is to find out the extent or stage of the cancer. This is known as staging. It can help your doctor to decide on the right treatment for you.

Biopsy: The pathologist finds out the thickness and depth of a melanoma by looking at it under a microscope. This is known as the Breslow scale.

Sentinel node biopsy: In this test a tiny amount of radioactive liquid or dye is injected around the melanoma before it is removed. This radioactive liquid will show up lymph nodes that have melanoma cells. It can tell if the melanoma has spread or not.

Other tests may include:

What are the stages of melanoma?

Staging means finding out the size of the tumour and if it has spread to other parts of your body.

Staging is very important as it allows your doctor to decide the best treatment for you.

There are different ways to stage melanoma. A common method is the Breslow scale. This scale refers to the thickness of the tumour within your skin. The thickness (depth) is measured in the laboratory once the tumour is removed. It can find out if the cancer cells have spread into the deeper layers of your skin.

Date Last Revised:

Monday, May 9, 2016

Understanding Melanoma

Read our guide to melanoma and find out about the types and signs of melanoma along with information for patients diagnosed with melanoma.